1-4 Player bulls eye putting game

ABSTRACT

A portable putting game is discussed whereas one to four players compete in three unique games to get the best score. Each player chooses from four colored balls (red, white, yellow, blue) and attempts to score points by aiming at a Bulls Eye Target, which surrounds a hole. Bumper edge rails are used to keep the balls on the playfield and can be used for strategic trick shots. The game can be easily set up in many configurations indoors or outdoors depending on the space available to play by using interlocking base puzzle pieces and bumper edge rails. In addition the game can be easily taken apart and stored in a carry all bag that will allow the players to take the game anywhere.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to the game of golf, in particular a portable,indoor, outdoor, to four player competitive putting game.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Description of Prior Art

There have been many golf products that simulate the aspect of putting.Most are too large, difficult to set up and break down, and hard tocarry around or store. Many are designed to have one shape or size,while others are designed specifically as training devices with a simplegame design: putt at the hole to receive a hole in one or miss. Thefollowing eight prior patents were discovered in the pertinent fieldregarding the present invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,988 issued to Donald J. Palmer, Mark L. Palmer,Irwin A. Breinin on May 29, 1973 uses Velcro to connect the putting matstogether. It is played by aiming at a hole in the mat and has a simplegame design: putt at the hole to receive a hole in one or miss.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,405 issued to Trevino; Manuel C. on Jul. 1, 1975 isdesigned to serve as a standard training device with one size andconfiguration and a simple game design: putt at the hole to receive ahole in one or miss.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,391 issued to Carolan, Jr.; Leo P. on Jun. 24, 1986is designed to serve as a standard training device with one size andconfiguration and a simple game design: putt at the hole to receive ahole in one or miss.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,704 issued to Mazer; William on Jun. 19, 1990utilizes a flexible and flat rug that is rolled out to play the game.This design limits the game to only one size and configuration. It hasno rails to keep the balls from going off the game board and no hole forthe ball to fall into.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,521 issued to Healy; Charles W. on Apr. 13, 1993 isdesigned to serve as a standard training device with one size andconfiguration and a simple game design: putt at the hole to receive ahole in one or miss.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,789 issued to Karl; James S. on May 12, 1998 uses aflexible interlocking engagement with hook-like projections to connectseveral putting mats together. The mats are relatively flat and arerolled up for storage. It uses a retaining rail, which is fastened downto the mat by connecting a fastening device through a hole in the mat.It is played by aiming at an “elevated” target surface instead of a holein the mat.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,256 issued to MacLean; John J. on Jan. 26, 1999utilizes a continuous length of artificial grass that is stored in aroll and rolled out over panels to play the game. This design limits thegame to only one size and configuration. The putting area starts levelwith the ground and then angles upward to allow the ball to drop into ahole. It has a simple game design: putt at the hole to receive a hole inone or miss.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,798 issued to Medcalf; Roger K. on Jan. 4, 2005 isdesigned to be one size and configuration. It has no rails to keep theballs from going off the game board and no hole for the ball to fallinto. It is relatively flat and rolled up for storage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One of the key elements of the present invention is the addition of aBulls Eye Target surrounding the hole. The Bulls Eye Target along withtwelve multi-colored golf balls (red, white, yellow, blue) and ascoreboard allow the player to play three unique and competitive games(in the hole, shuffle board putting, bumper putting). A second keyelement is the ease to set up and break down the game thanks to theinterlocking base pieces and bumper edge rails. The bumper edge railsare specifically designed to interlock like a puzzle to the base pieces,which will allow a variety of game configurations based on the spaceavailable to play. A final key element is the compact carrying case,which will allow the player to easily store all the parts of the game.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become moreapparent during the following disclosure and by referring to thedrawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the Bulls Eye Putting Game.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the relationship between the base puzzlepieces and bumper edge rail.

FIG. 3 is top plan view showing the relationship between the base puzzlepieces and bumper edge rail.

FIG. 4 is a detailed perspective view of the bumper edge rail.

FIG. 5 is an overall exploded perspective view of the Bulls Eye PuttingGame.

FIG. 6 is an alternate exploded perspective view of the Bulls EyePutting Game with a second version of the bumper edge rails.

FIG. 7 is an alternate exploded perspective view of the Bulls EyePutting Game with a third version of the bumper edge rails.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the Bulls Eye Putting Game.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship betweenthe base puzzle pieces and the indoor/outdoor carpeting.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing the relationship between the base puzzlepieces and the indoor/outdoor carpeting.

FIG. 11-17 are a top down view of seven separate game configurations forthe Bulls Eye Putting Game.

FIG. 18 is a front view of the scoreboard for the Bulls Eye PuttingGame.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the Bulls Eye Putting Game carryingcase.

FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of the Bulls Eye Putting Gamecarrying case.

FIG. 21 contains four pictures of a working prototype for the Bulls EyePutting Game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the Bulls Eye Putting Game. Itshows the main features of the game including the base puzzle pieces 1,the indoor/outdoor carpeting 2, the bumper edge rails 3, the finishededge pieces 4, and the bulls eye target 5.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the relationship between the base puzzlepieces 1, the indoor/outdoor carpeting 2, and the bumper edge rails 3.

FIG. 3 is a top down view showing the relationship between the basepuzzle pieces 1, the indoor/outdoor carpeting 2, and the bumper edgerails 3.

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view that shows the bumper edge rails 3in detail. The bumper edge rails 3 are designed to interlock easily withthe base pieces 1,2 (for purposes of this document, the reference tobase pieces 1,2 refers to a combination of the base puzzle pieces 1, andthe indoor/outdoor carpeting 2). One function of the bumper edge rail 3is to keep the balls from dropping off the playing surface. A secondpurpose is that they can be used strategically in the game by bouncingthe balls off the bumper edge rail 3 so as to avoid balls that areblocking the target area or hole. The bumper edge rail 3 will be madeout of a rubbery material so as to make banking trick shots possible.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the Bulls Eye Putting Game. Itillustrates the relative positions of the base puzzle pieces 1, to theindoor/outdoor carpeting 2, to the bumper edge rails 3. The finishededge pieces 4 (FIG. 1) are used to complete the base puzzle piece 1 edgewhere the bumper edge rails 3 are not needed.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view, which shows a second embodimentof the bumper edge rails. This version uses bumper edge rails 7 thatwill be connected to the base pieces 1,2 by fastening screws 8 or othertype of fastening bolt.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view, which shows a third embodimentof the bumper edge rails. This version uses high-quality industrialrubber bands 9, which will be stretched and placed over rubber bandstands 10 to create the bumper rails.

FIG. 8 is a top down view of the Bulls Eye Putting Game, whichillustrates the design of the bulls eye target 5. The first inner targetarea 5 b is yellow & is worth three points, the second middle targetarea 5 c is red and worth two points and the third outer target area 5 dis blue and worth one point. Within the center of the target is atwo-inch deep hole 5 a. If the player gets a “hole in one” they receivesix points.

FIG. 9 is a top down view showing the four bulls eye target base pieces1,2 a, 1,2 b, 1,2 c, 1,2 d. One-quarter of the bulls eye target 5 isspray-painted directly onto four of the indoor/outdoor carpeting pieces2 and when they are connected together they form one complete bulls eyetarget 5.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the base puzzle pieces 1 in relationto the indoor/outdoor carpeting pieces 2. The indoor/outdoor carpetingpieces 2 will be glued to the base puzzle pieces 1, which will be madeout of a light weight rubber material.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing the relationship between the base puzzlepieces 1 and the indoor/outdoor carpeting pieces 2.

FIG. 12-18 illustrates seven separate ways that the Bulls Eye PuttingGame can be set up based on the amount and/or placement of the basepieces 1,2 and bumper edge rails 3. The base pieces 1,2 and bumper edgerails 3 can be easily connected like a puzzle to create an infiniteamount of different size and shape playfields.

FIG. 15 illustrates a smaller version of the Bulls Eye Putting Gamewhereas the bulls eye target is painted directly onto one bulls eyetarget base piece 1,2 e instead of four bulls eye target base pieces 1,2a, 1,2 b, 1,2 c, 1,2 d. This alternate design will be sold as a separateproduct and will make the product smaller, cheaper and lighter becausethere will be fewer base pieces 1,2 contained in the game.

FIG. 19 illustrates a preliminary design for the scoreboard for theBulls Eye Putting Game. The scoreboard will be a whiteboard witherasable pen or a chalk-board with chalk. It will be hung on a wall orplaced on a scoreboard stand to allow players to easily use it whileplaying. One to four players will write their names 11 on the scoreboardand as they play the game they will write down their scores 12accordingly.

The right side of the scoreboard show the current game scoring scenario13 whereas a hole in one is worth six points, the first inner targetarea 5 b is yellow & is worth three points, the second middle targetarea 5 c is red and worth two points and the third outer target area 5 dis blue and worth one point. If a player does not reach the target area,the player receives minus one point. This illustration also explainswhat happens when a ball lands between two target areas 14. When thishappens, the player receives the higher point value.

Below the game scoring scenarios are the directions for three currentgames. Game number one 15 is called “In the hole”. In this game playerschoose a ball color and take turns hitting all three of their balls fromthe putting area 6 (FIG. 8). After the points have been scored all ballsare cleared from the playfield and the second player goes. If a playergets all three balls in the hole in a row, they receive bonus shotsuntil they miss the hole. The first player to fifty points wins thegame.

Game number two 16 is called “Shuffle Board putting”. This game issimilar to the game of shuffleboard in that balls remain on theplayfield after being hit. Each player alternates hitting their ballsuntil all balls have been hit. Players can use strategy and attempt tohit playfield balls closer or farther from the hole. The first player tofifty points wins the game.

Game number three 17 is called “Bumper Putting”. This game plays likeboth games one and two except players cannot aim straight at the hole.They can only hit their balls off the bumper edge rails 3 to scorepoints. The first player to fifty points wins the game.

FIG. 20 illustrates a perspective view of the carrying case 18 that willhold the Bulls Eye Putting Game. The carrying case will allow players toeasily carry the product anywhere they wish. It can be opened throughthe use of a zipper 19 or other form of fastening element.

FIG. 21 illustrates an exploded view of the carrying case 18 which showsthe two sections of the carrying case: The lower half 23 shows thesection where the twelve base pieces 1,2 will be placed. The upper halfshows where the remaining parts for the game will be placed 22. Theupper section will contain twelve bumper edge rails 3, a standard putter21, and twelve golf balls 20 (red, white, yellow, blue). It will alsocontain any remaining parts including the scoreboard and the cup hole(not shown).

FIG. 22 shows four pictures of the actual working prototype of the BullsEye Putting Game. In this prototype version the outdoor carpeting comesin a roll and is rolled out to cover the base puzzle pieces.

1. A portable 1-4 player Bulls Eye Pulling Game to be played with twelvemulti-colored balls, a scoreboard, a Bulls Eye Target and a standardminiature golf putter.
 2. A portable 1-4 player Bulls Eye Putting Gamewherein players can play up to three separate and unique games by aimingat a Bulls Eye Target.
 3. A portable 1-4 player Bulls Eye Putting Gamewherein the base pieces and bumper edge rails can be easily connectedlike a puzzle into many different configurations based on the amount ofavailable space to play. The bumper edge rails are designed to keep theballs on the playfield and allow the players to hit trick shots bybouncing off the side rails.